Dispensing devices for fan-fold sheet material



Jan. 20, 1959 P. A. WOOSTER 2,869,951

DISPENSING DEVICES FOR FAN-FOLD SHEET MATERIAL Filed Feb. 20, 1956 INVENTOR. PHILIP A. WOOSTER nited Stes DISPENSING DEVICES FOR FAN-FOLD SHEET MATERIAL Philip A. Wooster, San Rafael, -Calif., assignor to West Chemical Products, Inc., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York This invention relates to dispensers for fan-fold sheet materialofthe type adapted'to store and dispense fanfold paper towels and the like. More, particularly the invention relates to a, dispensing'device of the class described embodying mechanicaldriving means for feeding sheet material therefrom wherein the. device includes a movable member which in one position of movement provides access to the. drive means and which in, the other position thereof forms support and guide means for the. folded sheet material being dispensed.

In dispensing devices for fan-fold sheet material, and particularly in towel dispensers in rest rooms, public places and the like, it has been found desirable, in order to avoid excessive waste, to provide a mechanical feed mechanism limiting the rate at which towels are fed from the device. When such feed mechanism 'is employed however, itbecomes a problem in many available devices to properly start an initial feed of toweling because of inaccessibility of'the parts of the feed mechanism. This difiiculty is particularly noticeable in the case of fan-fold type paper towels which in order tofunction properly must be supported along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges with clearance for feeding through guide means substantially mid-way between such edges, whereas the mechanical feed mechanism is preferably forwardly of such guide means in order to provide delivery of towels at the front of the dispensing device. 1

vAn object of my invention is to provide an improved construction in dispensers for fan-fold towels wherein the towel guide means intermediate folded edges of towels is carried .by a member pivotally secured to the device in a manner to provide free access to a mechanical feed mechanism for towels. A.further object of the invention is to incorporate in the movable member carrying said guide means, bin forming means cooperating in the support and alignment of folded towels within the device.

These and otherobjects of the invention will be readily apparent from a. consideration of the following specification taken together with the accompanying drawing in which a preferred adaptation of my invention has been shown with thevarious parts thereof identified by suitable characters in each of:the views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view as seen from one side of the device indicating fan-fold towels arranged therein and. fitting around guide'means and mechanical feed rollers;

Fig. 2 is a composite front view of the device as seen in Fig. l with the right-hand side indicating the device with the cover raised to expose the internal structure and the left-hand side showing the cover in the normal closed position;

Fig. 3 is a partial diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 1 indicating. the relative position of parts when towels are being threaded through the mechanical feed rollers; and

Fig. 4 is aview similar to Fig. 3 showing the relative position of partsafter my movable guide means has been turned to its operative position and before towels have 0 ing bin within the body part of the device.

been replaced in the storage compartment of the device.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing there is shown a typical dispenser for fan-fold paper towels comprising a body part 10 adapted to be secured to a wall or other support and cover part 11 pivotally secured to the upper edge of the body part by hinge means 12'. The body part has forwardly extending end walls 13 including outwardly extending stilfening flanges 14, said side walls being connected-at the lower. portionof the body part by transversefrontwall member 15 and a downwardly inclined flange 16 secured. to the rear or mounting wall 17 of the body part.

The downwardly extending flange 16 forms part of the towel support means within the body part. A corresponding towel support. means at the forward portion of the body part is'provided by the angularly disposed flange 18 of the movable bin-forming member 19 which is pivoted by hinge means 20 to the upper edge of the front wall part 15. The flange 18 carries at its lower edge and substantially centrally'of the body part 10 a roller 19' which in its lowerposition as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawingforms a guide for' the smooth feed of towels 21 from afan-foldstack. 21' oftowels to feed rollers 22, 23. of' a mechanical towel feed mechanism. The free edge of the'fiange 16 has a downwardly and rearwardly extending edge portion. 24 providing both stiffening of the flange 16 r and asmooth contour over which towels '20 maypass when being drawn from the direction of the. rear wall.17 of the body part.

There is'diagrammatically indicated a hand crank 25 for driving the rollers 22 and 23 in feeding the desired length of towels from the device and forwardly of the roller 23 is a transverse member'26 having a lower cutting edge 27 for severingv a desired length of paper towel by merely pulling the towel in a direction away from the dispenser (horizontally as shown in the drawing). It will be understood however, that the particular mechanical towel feed and the particular form of towel severing means form no part of the present invention and. are

included merely to facilitate understanding of the complete operation of a typical towel dispenser.

The upper edges 28 of the side walls 13 of the body part andflanges 14' thereof are inclined downwardly toward the front of the cabinet and are joined adjacent the back wall 17 with a narrow stiffening means 29 which also carries the hinge 12. The stiffening means 29 in conjunction with inwardly protruding lugs 30 on: the end walls 13 provide support for a fan-fold stack 21' of towels, (note the dotted line'position in Fig. 1 of the drawing), during the loading operation which will be more fully hereinafter described.

The cover part 11 envelops top, side and front portions of the dispenser when in closed position and is retained in the closed positioniby snap engagement of a leaf spring 31 carried by the transverse member 26 of the body part with a flange 32 at the lower edge of the front wallcover 11. This leaf spring can be disengaged with the flange 32' by merely inserting a pointed article through an aperture 33 provided in the cover'll in alignment with the spring 31. (Note Fig. 2.) It will be understood however, that any type of fastening or locking means including, if desired, a key actuated lock could be employed in the device.

It will'be noted from a consideration of Fig. i of the drawing that the flange 16 and the downwardly inclined flange 18 of th'e movable part 19 together form substantially symmetrical portions of a towel support- This is important in providing'th'e-smooth and proper feed of towels from a fan-fold stack21' which may vary in Patented Jan. 20, 1959 height to an upward limit defined by the inwardly extending lugs 30. When it is necessary to fill the device and initiate a new feed of towels through the feed rollers 22, 23, the movable part 19 is pivoted to a position as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing with the roller 19' thereof 'in a raised position forwardly of the body part. When in this position a fan-fold stack 21 of towels is supported on the lugs 30 with a length of towels 21 hanging within the body part and it will be evident that there is ample space provided between the forward edge 24 of the flange 16 and the hinge 28 as well as ample space between the roller 19 and the fanfold stack 21 for a person to insert one or both hands to facilitate proper feeding of towels between the rollers 22 and 23. When this feed has been established the movable member 19 is swung to its bin forming position as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing and while the fan-fold stack 21 of towels is still supported by the lugs 30 operation can be tested to be sure that towels are being fed properly by the rollers 22, 23. Thereafter the stack 21 of towels is removed from the lugs 30, the slack is taken up either by refolding towels on the bottom of the stack or by feeding towels through the rollers 22, 23 and the stack 21 is placed into operative position as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

When an operator is filling the device the cover 11 is supported in the elevated position by means of side braces 34 pivoted to the cover 11, which are movable in slots 35 in the flanges 14; the braces having notches 36 to engage upwardly extending stop members 37 at the rear or upper ends of the slots 35.

Additional towels may be added to the stack 21' and adhesively or otherwise secured to provide continuous feed of towels. Thus if the device is properly attended and complete exhaustion of towels is prevented, the frequency of having to re-feed towels through the rollers 22, 23, can be kept at a minimum. It will be evident however, that the combination of the movable bin forming part 19 and its roller 19', together with the supporting means as provided by the lugs 30 is distinctly advantageous both in providing free access to the rollers 22, 23 from within the apparatus and in leaving the operators hands free to properly adjust and feed towels therethrough.

Various changes and modifications in the apparatus as herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the art and to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims it is to be understood that they constitute part of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fanfold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the lower front portion of said apparatus, and an upwardly swinging cover normally closing the front of said apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable with respect to said fixed flange and to a position outwardly of the apparatus when said cover is raised providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers.

2. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fanfold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the lower front portion of said apparatus, and an upwardly swinging cover normally closing the front of said apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable with respect to said fixed flange and to a position outwardly of the apparatus when said cover is raised providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers, said pivotally mounted part having at the inner movable edge thereof a guide roller which is operatively oriented in closely spaced relation to the guide means on said fixed flange.

3. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fan-fold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the lower front portion of said apparatus, and an upwardly swinging cover normally closing the front of said apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable to a position outwardly of the apparatus when said cover is raised providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers, and said pivotally mounted part comprising in its operative position a vertical Wall member, an inwardly extending flange integral with and disposed at an obtuse angle to the lower edge of said wall member, and hinge means transversely of said wall member intermediate upper and lower edges thereof providing the pivotal mounting for said part.

4. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fan-fold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the lower front portion of said apparatus, and an upwardly swinging cover normally closing the front of said apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable to a position outwardly of the apparatus when said cover is raised providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers, and said pivotally mounted part comprising in its operative position a vertical wall member, an inwardly extending flange integral with and disposed at an obtuse angle to the lower edge of said wall member, hinge means transversely of said wall member intermediate upper and lower edges thereof providing the pivotal mounting for said part, and the free edge of said flange carrying a guide roller which is operatively oriented in closely spaced relation to the guide means on said fixed flange.

5. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fan-fold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, and mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable to a positionoutwardly of the apparatus providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers, and means in the upper portion of said apparatus for the temporary support of a fan-fold stael; of sheet material while sheet material is being threaded between said feed rollers.

6. In a dispensing apparatus for fan-fold sheet material having bin forming means for supporting a fan-fold stack of sheet material along forwardly and rearwardly disposed folded edges thereof, guide means between and substantially equidistant from said folded edges facilitating smooth withdrawal of sheet material from said stack, and mechanically driven feed rollers below and forwardly of said guide means for feeding sheet material from the apparatus, the improvement that comprises a fixed flange within said apparatus forming the rear support and guide means thereof, and a pivotally mounted part forming the front support and guide means Within said apparatus, said pivotally mounted part being movable to a position outwardly of the apparatus providing free access for threading sheet material between said feed rollers, and means in the upper portion of said apparatus for the temporary support of a fan-fold stack of sheet material while sheet material is being threaded between said feed rollers, said last named means comprising inwardly eX- tending lugs on upper side walls of the apparatus in cooperation with a forwardly protruding flange along the top of the rear wall of said apparatus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,118,627 Steiner May 24, 1938 2,411,917 Wooster Dec. 3, 1946 2,488,040 Straubel Nov. 15, 1949 2,809,082 Marcuse Oct. 8, 1957 

